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Assoc. Prof. SIMEON SIMEONOV |
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Abstract: In the nineteenth century, consulates became crucial agencies in the institutional integration of Dobrudja and other regions of the Balkan Peninsula within the European commercial and economic system. The process of consular institutional integration entailed three phases: (1) establishment of professional consular expertise based on structural advantages in the circuits of information within a shared public space;(2) transnational convergence (international synchronization of consular practices, norms and regulations); and (3) transregional consolidation (expansion of consular institutions). Drawing on a variety of materials from Greek, British, French, German, Russian, and Austrian consuls, the article highlights the role of consulates as essential institutions in the postwar integration of Southeastern Europe in the wake of several major conflicts, the Crimean War (1853–1856), the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), and the BalkanWars (1912–1913). With a special focus on Dobrudja, the “breadbasket” of the OttomanEmpire and a major grain-producing region of the European continent, the article places an emphasis on how consular reports helped create a common informational infrastructure that dramatically shaped the region’s integration into the European economy, as well as its modernization in line with European standards and expectations. It also provides critical avenues for comparative and “entangled” studies of Dobrudja’s consular integration with other regions, notably the Lower Danubian and North Black Sea areas.
Keywords: consuls, Dobrudja, Black Sea, Lower Danube, integration, networks, Crimean War, Russo-Turkish War, grain trade
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